The very unfortunate wish of Melony Yoshimura / Waka T. Brown.

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Title:

The very unfortunate wish of Melony Yoshimura / Waka T. Brown.

Author:

Brown, Waka T., author.

ISBN:

9780063230767

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

261 pages ; 22 cm

Abstract:

In this modern-day retelling of the Japanese folktale The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku, twelve-year-old Melony befriends a wish-granting demon who encourages her to rebel against her overprotective parents, all while using her for his own evil scheme.

Melony Yoshimura's parents have always been overprotective. They say it's because a demonic spirit called the Amanjaku once preyed upon kids back in Japan, but Melony suspects it's just a cautionary tale to keep her in line. So on her twelfth birthday, Melony takes a chance and wishes for the freedom and adventure her parents seem determined to keep her from. As if conjured by her wish, the Amanjaku appears. At first, Melony is wary. If this creature is real, are the stories about its destructive ways also real In no time, however, the Amanjaku woos Melony with its ability to shape-shift, grant wishes, and understand her desire for independence. But what Melony doesn't realize is that the Amanjaku's friendship has sinister consequences, and she quickly finds every aspect of her life controlled by the demon's trickery--including herself. Melony is determined to set things right, but will she be able to before the Amanjaku turns her life, her family, and her community upside down.

Reading Level:

Ages 8-12. Quill Tree Books.

Grades 4-6. Quill Tree Books.

Subject Term:

Wishes -- Juvenile fiction.

Demonology -- Juvenile fiction.

Families -- Juvenile fiction.

Parent and child -- Juvenile fiction.

Japanese Americans -- Juvenile fiction.

Wishes -- Fiction.

Demonology -- Fiction.

Family life -- Fiction.

Japanese Americans -- Fiction.

Souhaits -- Romans, nouvelles, etc. pour la jeunesse.

Démonologie -- Romans, nouvelles, etc. pour la jeunesse.

Familles -- Romans, nouvelles, etc. pour la jeunesse.

Parents et enfants -- Romans, nouvelles, etc. pour la jeunesse.

Américains d'origine japonaise -- Romans, nouvelles, etc. pour la jeunesse.

JUVENILE FICTION / Fairy Tales & Folklore / General.

Family members -- Juvenile fiction.

Family -- Juvenile fiction.

Genre:

Littérature populaire.

Romans.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Juvenile Fiction Book Hardback	120791003089962	J BRO	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

In this magical and chilling Coraline-esque retelling of the Japanese folktale "The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku," one girl must save herself--and her loved ones--from a deceitful demon she befriended.

As if conjured by her wish, the Amanjaku appears. At first, Melony is wary. If this creature is real, are the stories about its destructive ways also real In no time, however, the Amanjaku woos Melony with its ability to shape-shift, grant wishes, and understand her desire for independence. But what Melony doesn't realize is that the Amanjaku's friendship has sinister consequences, and she quickly finds every aspect of her life controlled by the demon's trickery--including herself.

Melony is determined to set things right, but will she be able to before the Amanjaku turns her life, her family, and her community upside down

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Brown (Dream, Annie, Dream) explores intergenerational trauma and cultural identity in this eerie interpretation of the Japanese folktale "The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku." On Melony Yoshimura's 12th birthday, her Japanese emigrant parents tell her about the shape-shifting demon spirit Amanjaku, the reason they left Japan for Oregon. But Melony doesn't care about the Amanjaku or her parents' memories of Japan; she wants to be like other American kids who have smartphones and get to attend sleepovers. That night, Melony makes a birthday wish for freedom from her overprotective parents. Soon after, she meets the Amanjaku, a "fuzzy gray creature--kind of like a person in a wolf suit," who offers to grant her wishes. But even as things in Melony's life seem to be looking up, she begins to realize that her relationship with the Amanjaku portends disaster. Brown conveys practical lessons on morality via an empathetic protagonist; by interweaving Melony's contemporary struggles surrounding autonomy and independence with the origin text's foundational narrative, the author delivers an evenly paced speculative tale whose anticipatory atmosphere sows tension. Ages 8--12. Agent: Penny Moore, Aevitas Creative Management. (July)

Horn Book Review

Sixth grader Melony tries really hard to please her overprotective Japanese immigrant parents and be the good girl they expect her to be, but inside she's raging against their strict rules. Her mother won't let Melony have a phone but does decide she's old enough now at twelve to hear the real reason the family left Japan for Oregon years ago: apparently, they were running from an evil spirit. Melony scoffs, thinking it's just a silly story -- until the creature shows up at their house while her parents are out. Though terrified at first, Melony quickly falls under the Amanjaku's spell; the wily shape-shifting demon somehow knows she's yearning for adventure and freedom -- and a phone! -- and provides her with everything she desires, including revenge on the mean boys at school. Although the Amanjaku convinces Melony that it's all harmless, she slowly realizes that plenty of people are getting hurt, especially her new friend Chloe. The demon has become more and more dangerous; is it too late for Melony to fight back and save everyone? Brown's (Dream, Annie, Dream, rev. 3/22) eerie tale is a suspenseful, just-scary-enough story of the supernatural; the author's note reveals how she incorporated elements of her favorite Japanese folktale, "The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku," into the novel. (c) Copyright 2024. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

A shape-shifting demon takes over an Oregon girl's life in this chilling tale. Twelve-year-old Melony is sure life would be better if her strict, overprotective parents gave her the same freedoms as other kids, not to mention cool clothes and a new phone, and if her real name, Uriko, wasn't fodder for bullies. Melony's parents have lived in the U.S. for years, and she hates the way they constantly talk about Japan and how things were different there. So Melony fights back by being the opposite of the "good girl" she's supposed to be--and it feels amazing! Unknowingly, this opens the door for an Amanjaku, a demon who feeds on a person's most base desires. At first, Melony is drawn in by its playful nature. But as time goes on, its horrifying true nature begins to sour everything good, including Melony herself. Can she realize the error of her ways and save her family and friends before it's too late? Based on the Japanese folktale "Urikohime to Amanjaku," or "The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku," this modern Japanese American version is woven throughout with intergenerational, as well as cultural, tension and specificity. This well-paced story uses foreshadowing to create suspense and build anticipation while exploring themes of independence and autonomy so important to tween development. Blurring the lines of reality, it relies on psychological elements, rather than leaning on blood and gore, before ultimately leading to a safe, comforting homecoming. A satisfyingly scary story about pushing boundaries. (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Melony Yoshimura has parents of the helicopter variety, loving but highly protective to the point where the newly minted 12-year-old isn't allowed to ride her bike alone and has never experienced a sleepover. Tired of being babied, Melony makes a birthday wish for freedom, which has unforeseen consequences, as wishes often do. At first, it seems she finds some liberty in her friendship with new-girl Chloë Yoshida, but then the Amanjaku arrives on Melony's doorstep, and everything changes. This shape-shifting, evil spirit is one of the reasons Melony's parents moved from Japan to the U.S., hoping to leave its harmful influence behind them. However, Melony is susceptible to its suggestions, which lead her to commit increasingly unkind acts that, nevertheless, chafe against her morals, which readers will hope can triumph over the insidious Amanjaku. Brown takes the Japanese folktale "The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku" and updates it here for American readers, many of whom will identify with Melony's middle-school tribulations and desire for independence. A fresh take on the "be careful what you wish for" motif.